UKGC wants operator compliance ‘right across the board’

Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes wants operator compliance to be met “right across the board,” revealing a switch of focus for the UK regulator.

Speaking at the Betting and Gaming Council’s AGM, he said the Commission will be focusing on tier two, three and four operators “over the coming year and beyond.”

Rhodes said compliance among this cohort is lower and that more high-risk customers are potentially playing on these platforms.

“From a regulatory point of view, it cannot be acceptable for operators to make the changes and investment they have to drive higher standards, only to potentially observe others in the same market appearing to ‘get away’ with lower standards,” he said.

Rhodes said, though, that the regulator has observed a “much more positive” picture of compliance among operators in the past 12 to 18 months, “particularly where there have been previous areas that needed to be improved.”

Rhodes also revealed that the regulator will this month publish its full response to the consultation on financial risk checks.

The Gambling Commission last week confirmed a four-to-six-month pilot of the checks ahead of a formal parliamentary debate this week that saw the UK government and the Commission face criticism for the plan.

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